- Lydia Pinto, 38, has been accused of sexual abuse by her former student
- The alleged assault spanned the student’s high school years
- Pinto coached field hockey and lacrosse at Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School
A married New Jersey gym teacher has been arrested after she was accused of sexually abusing her student from the age of 14 until her senior year of high school.
Lydia Pinto, 38, who coached field hockey and girls lacrosse at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, was charged with sexual assault after the former student alleged a long-term sexual relationship with her.
Bridgewater police received an email from a former student who said he had been continuously sexually abused by Pinto since he was 14 years old.
After a month of investigation, police arrested Pinto on November 8 in Franklin, New Jersey, and took her into custody.
“The victim indicated that he had a relationship with former teacher Lydia Pinto,” Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald wrote last week.
Lydia Pinto, 38, has been arrested after being accused of sexually abusing her student from the age of 14 until her senior year of school
Pinto, who coached field hockey and girls lacrosse at Bridgewater-Raritan High School (pictured), was charged with sexual assault after the former student alleged a long-term sexual relationship with her
“The victim further reported that the relationship became sexual when the victim was between the ages of 14 and 15 and continued until his senior year of high school,” the statement reads.
Pinto was arrested and charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault and two counts of second-degree sexual assault.
Authorities were alerted when the Bridgewater Police Department’s Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit received an anonymous email alleging that Pinto had been sexually assaulted.
The email details a four-year inappropriate sexual relationship between Pinto and the student.
Detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Sex Crime and Child Abuse Unit soon identified and interviewed the victim, a former student at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.
The student, who is now an adult, claimed the assault spanned his high school years and all took place in the Raritan neighborhood.
“Further investigation was conducted by detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Sex Crimes/Child Abuse Unit and the Raritan Borough Police Department,” the statement read.
“Defendant Pinto was taken into custody without incident in Franklin Township, New Jersey.”
Bridgewater police received an email from a former student who said he had been continuously sexually abused by Pinto since he was 14
Pinto, originally from Newton, Pennsylvania, coached girls field hockey and lacrosse and taught driver education at Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School.
According to a social media post from the school, she coordinated a safe driving program with other driver education teachers in March to educate students about road safety.
Although it is not clear when she left the highly ranked public school, her name has not appeared on the school’s staff list since Wednesday.
Pinto was booked into the Somerset County Jail for her arrest. She was released seven days later, on Nov. 15, pending her next court appearance, prison officials said Fox News digital.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about Pinto’s alleged sexual assault to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.